This invention relates to a spacer for use between baffle plates in a muffler, wherein the spacer is formed of a stock material having a relatively constant cross section such that the spacer can be cut to length.
Mufflers are utilized to dampen the sound on the exhaust of vehicles. The mufflers utilized in modem vehicles consist of a number of tubes, and open spaces which are positioned along a serial flow path. Modern muffler designers utilize both open expanded spaces, and flow tubes to achieve the desired sound dampening effect. An open space is typically defined between a pair of baffle plates. A first tube extends through one baffle plate and has a discharge end opening into the space between the two baffle plates. Another tube is mounted in the opposed baffle plate, to receive air from the space. Often, the two baffle plates will receive another flow tube extending completely through the space. The tube which extends through the space provides support to hold the baffle plates at a design distance. However, as stated above, there are also tubes that do not extend between the baffle plates. Adjacent these spaced tubes, some additional support is desirable to maintain a desired spacing between the baffle plates.
The prior art has utilized a stamped spacer or bracket between the baffle plates to provide the support. While the stamped bracket has provided the function of maintaining a desired distance between the baffle plates, it has required a particular tool manufactured for each new size. Thus, when a muffler designer designs a new muffler having a somewhat different spacing between the baffle plates, a new tool must be prepared to make the bracket. This is undesirably expensive and also hinders the muffler designer from selecting a unique spacing between baffle plates which would be most desirable for a particular muffler design.